<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Facts, Convenience, and Falling in Love by yamarik</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189614">Facts, Convenience, and Falling in Love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamarik/pseuds/yamarik'>yamarik</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alpha Draco Malfoy, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Consent, M/M, No Smut, Omega Harry Potter, One Shot, Scents &amp; Smells</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 06:00:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,791</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23189614</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/yamarik/pseuds/yamarik</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>While most of the wizarding world is under the impression that Harry Potter is an alpha, he knows it's only a matter of time before he gets outed as an omega. As insurance against the backlash he'll no doubt face when his secondary gender is discovered by the general public, Harry ends up attending an event designed to help people find mates. Who he ends up matching with might be a bit of a surprise though.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1243</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Facts, Convenience, and Falling in Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this is my first time writing a/b/o, also my first time writing Drarry (or anything in the HP fandom), so sorry if it's weird.<br/>Also, for the purposes of this fic, mating has three steps: claiming (which involves marking one's partner and it used to show intent to mate, much like an engagement ring), bonding (which is typically initiated by a bite the breaks the skin and involves non-sexual intimacy), and mating (which is where they have intercourse and finalize things). Claiming and bonding often happen all at once, but they don't have to.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Fact: At some point during puberty, a person’s secondary gender would reveal itself.
</p>
<p>This meant that prebuscents and tweens were all just a bunch of walking time bombs, essentially. Schools had to be on high alert, ready for such instances, especially since some secondary gender reveals could prompt others to awaken to their own secondary genders- some statistics even claimed that as many as 75% of heat frenzies were caused by pubescent youth presenting.
</p>
<p>Fact: Most schools were segregated by secondary gender.
</p>
<p>In some cases, this just meant separate classrooms and class activities for each secondary gender, while others would isolate each gender to certain buildings. There were also schools that catered only to students of one specific gender, like schools for alphas or omegas, or sometimes even primary gender was factored in as well.
</p>
<p>Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was one of the few schools that didn’t segregate.
</p>
<p>Fact: In order to prevent incidents involving secondary gender, all Hogwarts students were required to take scent suppressants. 
</p>
<p>Students would be sent a dose of potion on August 31, to be taken immediately, so that their scent would be blocked before they got on the Hogwarts Express, and would receive all subsequent doses in the food and drink provided by the school. They were not required to continue their suppressants over the summer, but were given the option to have suppressants owled to them during any periods they spent outside of school if they wished to maintain their scentless state. It was a precaution that allowed students to interact with their peers regardless of secondary gender, and also kept students from stinking up the hallways with pheromones.
</p>
<p>Fact: Those who presented as alphas or omegas suffered through monthly ruts and heats respectively.
</p>
<p>No potion or muggle pharmaceutical could prevent heats or ruts. Centuries of potioneers and herbalists and doctors had tried. Many had made wondrous discoveries, yet none had succeeded in finding any means of staving off that monthly menace. The only saving grace for alphas and omegas was medicines to reduce the effects of their ruts or heats, allowing them to at least remain functional, albeit miserable and horny.
</p>
<p>Fact: Even betas still suffer from puberty-induced randiness.
</p>
<p>Since the dawn of Hogwarts, professors and prefects had been finding students engaged in inappropriate activities in various places around the school. Of course there had been rules in place against that sort of thing, but rules only served as a deterrent for a select few. Even when one bygone headmaster of yore had opted to make expulsion the punishment for engaging in sexual intercourse, students had still sought ways to relieve their needs. As a result, the subsequent headmaster had thought up the convoluted idea of “scent parties”.
</p>
<p>“Scent parties” were a quarter-annual event at Hogwarts, held one week after term began in September, just before the Christmas holidays, right around Valentine’s Day, and between the end of term exams and the return home. All interested students above the arbitrarily chosen age of 15 would be invited to the great hall. At the entrance to the room, they would have a specially designed privacy spell cast on them that would render them blind and deaf until they either engaged in a partnership or the party ended. They would then be given a portkey that would take them to a random spot in the great hall. Once all participants had been portkeyed in, they would all receive a vial of antidote to their suppressants, and would be free to move around the room, seeking out someone with a scent that appealed to them. If both parties were receptive to the idea, a claiming bite would be delivered, and the two could then leave the hall together to discuss the particulars of their relationship and potentially bond or even mate (for this reason, the antidote to the scent suppressant also included contraceptive potions). If one reached the end of the party without finding an agreeable partner, they would receive a vial of suppressant to take and would be escorted from the hall by a teacher, who would then remove the privacy spell and send them back to their dorms.
</p>
<p>All in all, it was a complicated process that was far more trouble than it was worth- not to mention the morality and safety of it was frequently questioned- and would have been done away with years before were it not for the fact that it was so popular with the students. One headmaster had indeed tried to abolish the practice, only for the students to band together and hold small parties of their own. So despite the claims that it was essentially sanctioning underage sex or ruining bloodlines since some pureblood students found themselves unexpectedly in a bond with a halfblood or worse, the practice persisted.
</p>
<p>Fact: Harry James Potter wasn’t particularly interested in attending any scent parties, ever.
</p>
<p>After all, one of his best friends was Hermione “Scent-parties-are-derogatory-and-an-antiquated-way-of-finding-a-suitable-mate” Granger, who had tried to stage a protest outside a scent party in first year. She had warmed to the idea since then, but still deemed it irresponsible, and frankly, Harry rather agreed. Then there was also the fact that he was Harry “The-boy-who-lived” Potter, and as a result, had been subject to students approaching him and announcing their secondary gender to him with suggestive winks ever since he arrived at Hogwarts. And that wasn’t at all traumatizing to a kid who hadn’t known he was famous and who still maintained the slightly childish repulsion to all things romance, no, not at all (that’s a lie, it was severely traumatizing). 
</p>
<p>Plus, Harry just kinda liked the idea of mating with someone because they’d actually, y’know, fallen in love. Not because bearing children together would be easier, not because one had submitted to the other, not because it was a good match, but because being together genuinely made them happy and they couldn’t imagine spending their life with anyone else. Mating bonds weren’t meant to be destroyed; they could be, but it often had adverse effects on the formerly bonded. Some who chose to sever their bond lost the ability to feel, and in the worst cases, lost their minds completely. Based on that, Harry found it reckless to rush into a bond just because someone “smelled good”. And if Harry “Gotta-be-the-boldest-Gryffindor-to-ever-Gryffindor” Potter thought something was reckless, you knew it was really crazy.
</p>
<p>And yet here was 15-year-old Harry, waiting in line for the first scent party of the term despite the queasy feeling in his stomach. The reason was simple: shortly after the Yule Ball the previous year, Harry had finally presented his secondary gender, and he was an omega. 
</p>
<p>Of all the genders, omegas were at the most risk if their secondary gender was found out. While the wizarding world held by a much kinder view of omegas than muggles did, they were still subject to certain negative connotations of omegas. Namely, that omegas were sex objects rather than people. Oh sure, they walked and talked and thought and had emotions, but everything an omega did was all for the purpose of attracting a strong mate and producing however many children that mate wished for; or so many people thought. If Harry were to be discovered as an omega, he would never escape from students who saw it as their right to do with him as they pleased. He already felt like public property half the time, he didn’t need that treatment to get worse, thank-you-very-much.
</p>
<p>It didn’t help that Harry had a low threshold for his heats, which meant everyone knew he underwent a monthly cycle. Luckily for him, thus far everyone had assumed he was an alpha. In fact, most people seemed to assume that even before he presented. But sooner or later, the truth would come out, and when that time came, Harry wanted to be prepared. Which meant allowing someone to claim him. 
</p>
<p>As the line moved forward and Harry stepped up to where Professor Flitwick was casting the privacy spells and handing out portkeys, he could feel dozens of hopeful eyes on him. After all, who wouldn’t want to become the mate of the boy-who-lived, especially if he was an alpha. Finally, it was his turn, and with a wave of Flitwick’s wand, Harry was robbed of his senses. He held out his hand like he’d seen those before him do, and his portkey was dropped into his palm. There was the momentary disorientation as the portkey took effect, and he just barely managed not to go sprawling as the portkey dropped him in place in the great hall. 
</p>
<p>Harry tucked the portkey into his robes so he could return it later, his head instinctively swiveling to try and look around. But of course, he couldn’t see anything, thanks to the spell Flitwick had used. He waited for the antidote to be handed out, biting his lip nervously, wondering what kind of person he would be claimed by. A beta would be nice, with their tendency towards level-headedness. Most likely, they would be the ones ready to accept the kind of relationship Harry sought. But at the same time, a beta’s claim was more likely to be challenged or ignored by those who held the sexist opinion that omegas could only be properly claimed and sexually satisfied by an alpha. As such, it would be safer for Harry to let an alpha claim him, preferably one who could hold their own in a duel. But Harry didn’t want some domineering hot-head who was fueled by their sex drive, which is what a lot of the alphas at the scent party would be. 
</p>
<p>Of course, Harry could try and find another omega to bond with, but there would be even less security in a bond with another omega than there would be with a beta. Plus, most of the people who Harry had met who were openly omega were… not what he wanted in a relationship. They were passive, submissive, too eager to please. He didn’t want a partner who was constantly looking to him to make the decisions and take the lead. He got enough of that from the wizarding world at large. Conversely, he didn’t want someone who would dictate his life for him and expect him to bow down to their every whim; again, he got enough of that from the wizarding world at large. Harry wanted a partner who would be his equal, regardless of genders. He wanted the kind of romance he’d read about in the peculiar genre of fiction where people lacked secondary genders.
</p>
<p>Harry was just beginning to think he’d made a mistake and ought to leave the scent party when a vial nudged at his cheek: the antidote. He could choose not to take it, to dump it on the floor and fumble his way to a wall to lean against until the party came to an end. But he was tired of living with the paranoid fear that people secretly knew. Tired of worrying about what might happen if some alpha cornered him and tried to force him to submit. He was so tired, and that was what prompted him to take the antidote, even as he smelled other scents blossoming through the air.
</p>
<p>For the first few minutes, Harry just stood there, overwhelmed by all the sudden scents that were crashing into his olfactory sensors, making his eyes water. A few people bumped into him, already beginning their search, but he pushed them away before they could sniff him.
</p>
<p>When he was finally ready, Harry began fumbling around as well. He kept one hand protectively near his glasses as he went, worried of being knocked over and losing them and having them broken. Each encounter he had with another student was awkward, groping their way to each other’s shoulders and then leaning in to take a whiff. And each time, Harry felt his nose wrinkle in response to the odors that were just wrong.
</p>
<p>Some of the scents were too sweet, or too sour, or just too strong. Some were heady and full of sexual desire, making Harry want to vomit. Others were so bland it was like they didn’t even exist. It made Harry wonder what he smelt like to them in return.
</p>
<p>He was more than a little dizzy from the smells and losing hope in his chances of success when he collided with someone new, and, after finding their neck, he leaned in to have his nose filled with a pleasant odor of grass and wood and wind that reminded him of quidditch, with just the slightest herbal scent. Rosemary, maybe, in a small enough quantity to be enjoyable rather than overpowering. It was distinctly alpha, but not in an in-your-face sort of way, just a sort of calm strength that commanded respect without being authoritarian. The scent made him feel safe, and Harry felt himself relaxing for the first time since he’d left the common room for the party. This was the one. The person he would let claim him. If they wanted him that is.
</p>
<p>He felt a nose bump the crook of his neck, requesting permission, and his heart soared. He was sure that his scent would soon be filled with pheromones that would indicate his assent, but just to be clear, he tilted his head for better access and raised a hand until he felt silky hair, which he pushed downwards, encouragingly. He pushed a little too hard and caused his would-be-claimant to crash into his shoulder a bit, and they reached up to flick his chest in retaliation before repositioning themself. There was a pregnant moment in which Harry felt his heart pounding out of his chest, followed by a touch of breath on his exposed scent gland, and then…
</p>
<p>Teeth.
</p>
<p>He nearly groaned aloud as his new partner’s jaws closed around his exposed neck, biting down and leaving their mark, claiming him. It didn’t hurt as much as he’d anticipated, which was nice. Another thing he hadn’t anticipated, one which wasn’t as nice, was the saliva he could feel trickling out from the other’s jaws. He made a face, but he supposed that if things were the other way around and he were the one biting into a delicious scent, he’d probably end up drooling a bit too. He closed his eyes, waiting for the other person to release him.
</p>
<p>When the claim bite was finally completed, the other person pulled away. Harry opened his eyes slowly, blinking as he readjusted to having sight. The person in front of him was hard to see through his watery eyes, but he was reasonably certain they were rather pale, in both skin tone and hair color. Possibly male, and…
</p>
<p>Wait.
</p>
<p>“Malfoy?” Harry sputtered, at the same time a wide-eyed Malfoy gasped, “Potter?”
</p>
<p>Malfoy recovered first.
</p>
<p>“This has to be some sort of sick joke,” Malfoy said, taking the words right out of Harry’s mouth. “Polyjuice potion, that must be it. Tell me, who are you really?”
</p>
<p>“Didn’t the announcement say not to take any potions since they might mix badly with the antidote to the suppressants?” Harry pointed out. “Besides, why would I take Polyjuice potion when no one’s going to see me? And where would I even get some?”
</p>
<p>“Granger,” Malfoy replied instantly.
</p>
<p>“Yes, because Hermione is definitely in the habit of handing out illegal potions to random students,” Harry snarked back.
</p>
<p>“Oh bugger, you’re actually right,” Malfoy breathed, then added with more certainty, “which is more evidence that you can’t possibly be Potter.”
</p>
<p>“In first year you challenged me to a midnight duel in the trophy room all so you could set me up for detention,” Harry sighed. “Later that year, you discovered that we were going to help Hagrid get rid of his illegal dragon, and-”
</p>
<p>“Stop it,” Malfoy insisted firmly. “I don’t want to hear a recitation of all the griefs you have against me, especially since it’s making me actually start to believe it’s you, Potter, and there is no way I can accept that eventuality.” He turned away from Harry, his hands on his head as his perfect posture slumped into what could only be described as a hunch.
</p>
<p>“Oh, and you think I’m thrilled by this outcome?” Harry shot back. “Hate to break it to you, Malfoy, but you’re not actually the subject of every omega’s wet dreams, least of all this one’s.” It wasn’t strictly true, but hey, that was one time. 
</p>
<p>“There!” Malfoy exclaimed, thrusting out an arm towards Harry and straightening once more. “That’s exactly the crux of the matter, isn’t it? Since when the bloody hell are you an omega? You’re Potter, an alpha if there ever was one! Everyone says so.”
</p>
<p>“Well everyone’s wrong,” Harry snapped back. “Which, frankly, I’m perfectly okay with, given people’s attitudes towards omegas. Especially male omegas. You should hear my cousin and his friends, they all seem to think the idea of a male omega getting pregnant is just about the most hilarious thing ever.”
</p>
<p>“I’m utterly revolted,” Malfoy said, his nose wrinkling delicately.
</p>
<p>“You and me both,” Harry muttered.
</p>
<p>“Alright, fine, so you’re an omega,” Malfoy said, crossing his arms. “But if you don’t want anyone knowing, then why are you even here?”
</p>
<p>“Insurance,” Harry replied. “No one’s gonna bother a claimed omega. But what about you, haven’t mummy and daddy arranged a perfect match for you yet?”
</p>
<p>“Negotiations are still in progress on that front,” Malfoy replied. “But I’m not here for a mate, surely you could smell that.”
</p>
<p>“Well you don’t reek of lust like some of the others did,” Harry conceded.
</p>
<p>“Neither do you, thank Salazar,” Malfoy muttered.
</p>
<p>“So neither of us want mates,” Harry said. “Fine. But somehow, I doubt an alpha like you is worried about people finding out he’s unclaimed.”
</p>
<p>“It’s not as much of a concern, no, but ruts are,” Malfoy said.
</p>
<p>“It can’t be worse than a heat,” Harry scoffed.
</p>
<p>“Under normal circumstances, no,” Malfoy stated. “At least not from what I’ve heard. But it just so happens that some alphas require… a little more than potions and toys to ease their time of month. I am one such alpha.”
</p>
<p>“I thought you said you didn’t want a mate,” Harry said, frowning. “But you’re making it sound an awful lot like you want to give someone a monthly dicking in order to deal with your rut.”
</p>
<p>“Nothing as crass as that,” Malfoy practically snarled. “What makes things difficult for an alpha me is that scents bear stronger associations than normal, particularly during a rut; as such, having a scent to ground us is the best thing for a rut, save knotting a mate. In other words, during a rut, it is nearly impossible to bear the scents around me, and it makes it bloody difficult trying to get off when, at any second, you might get a whiff of someone’s unwashed socks or a third-year’s cheap perfume. I just want something that smells like someone I’ve claimed, as I will be most sensitive to that odor. It should block out all the other scents, and help speed things along, as it were.”
</p>
<p>“Oh, I see. I can do that,” Harry said, nodding. “In return, I want your protection should anyone else make unwanted advances towards me. Sound fair?”
</p>
<p>“It does seem reasonable enough,” Malfoy agreed. He held out a hand, and Harry took it in his own, shaking to seal the pact.
</p>
<p>“Let me know when your next rut is, and I’ll make sure to have something for you,” Harry said.
</p>
<p>“Much obliged, Potter,” Malfoy said, and he actually sounded a little bit grateful. “Now let’s get out of this godforsaken hall before either of us passes out from all these odors. Or worse, someone sees us talking and realizes I’ve claimed you.”
</p>
<p>“Always a pleasure, Malfoy,” Harry grumbled with a roll of his eyes. They split up, carefully maneuvering their separate ways past still-senseless students until they could leave the hall.
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Harry got his first letter from Malfoy a week later.
</p>
<p><i>“Potter, the event we discussed is approaching. I will need something that has been on your person for at least eight hours by Tuesday. -M</i>
</p>
<p><i>“P.S. If you lend me something that is obviously Gryffindor, I will hex you into the next decade.”</i>
</p>
<p>Harry was vaguely tempted to get the most garishly red article of clothing he could find, but he didn’t want to risk it. Malfoy might decide to end their arrangement, or worse, tell people the truth about Harry. No, Harry would hold up his end faithfully, and he would meet Malfoy’s demands so long as they remained reasonable. Besides, if Malfoy got caught with something Gryffindor and it were tracked back to Harry, it would be just as humiliating for Harry as it was for Malfoy.
</p>
<p>It took a few tries to find something suitable to send Malfoy. Harry’s hand-me-downs from Dudley were no good, since they were obviously muggle. His Weasley sweaters were too identifiable, and his school robes had the Gryffindor crest, as well as being something he couldn’t afford to lend away for an indefinite period of time. He considered sending the gloves he wore for quidditch, but not many students who weren’t on school teams had a pair of seeker’s gloves with them so those might give him away as well. He finally decided on a handkerchief that he’d bought for cleaning his glasses, which was a plain cream color and shouldn’t be too offensive. He only hoped Malfoy wouldn’t complain about the size.
</p>
<p>Harry carried the hanky all weekend before sending it to Malfoy wrapped carefully in a used copy of the Daily Prophet, borrowing a school owl so that Hedwig wouldn’t be recognized. Even after he explained the need for anonymity in sending this particular item, Hedwig still but his thumb and gave him the cold shoulder. He could only hope that she became more understanding as the year went on.
He’d just gotten back to the common room when Hermione and Ron accosted him and dragged him back to the dorms for a private talk.
</p>
<p>“Harry, did something happen?” Hermione began in a concerned tone as they all sat on the beds.
</p>
<p>“What do you mean?” Harry asked.
</p>
<p>“You’ve been really odd lately,” Ron said. “Like, you still haven’t told us who left that mark.”
</p>
<p>Harry’s hand instinctively flew up to slap over his scent gland. The morning after the scent party, he’d gotten Hermione to help him place a glamour over the claim mark, since claim marks were associated with omegas and betas (especially omegas) and might give him away. Unfortunately, Ron had seen the mark before then, and even if he hadn’t, it was hard for two of them to keep a secret from the third member of their group. Case and point: the current interrogation.
</p>
<p>“That’s private, Ron,” Harry replied weakly.
</p>
<p>“You also haven’t been picking any fights with Malfoy,” Hermione added, all too sagely. Sometimes she was a little too smart.
</p>
<p>“Yeah, now that you mention it, that’s true,” Ron agreed. “Normally you two are at each other’s throats, but you’ve been quiet this term.”
</p>
<p>“I don’t pick fights with Malfoy, he picks fights with me,” Harry grit back. “Maybe you should be asking him if something’s wrong instead.”
</p>
<p>“But every time you two see each other, you flinch,” Hermione pointed out. “Both of you. And then you try and pretend the other isn’t there at all, almost like something happened between you two…”
</p>
<p>“<i>Nothing</i> happened,” Harry insisted, because it was true, nothing had happened. At least, not the sort of thing that usually happened to people who paired up during a scent party.
</p>
<p>“Harry, mate, even I can tell you’re lying,” Ron said.
</p>
<p>“Only because he’s so terrible at it,” Hermione quipped.
</p>
<p>“Oh for fuck’s sake,” Harry groaned, causing Hermione to purse her lips momentarily at his language. Harry got up and went to the door, sticking his head out to make sure no one was nearby and might overhear. Satisfied, he ducked back inside and firmly closed the door, then returned to the bed. “Fine, something happened, okay. But no one, I repeat, <i>no one</i> hears about this, got it?”
</p>
<p>“I knew it,” Ron hissed. “Whatever that git did, I’ll kill him, I swear.”
</p>
<p>“Actually, strange as it may sound, I’d rather you didn’t,” Harry sighed. “Seeing as how he’s the one who claimed me and all.”
</p>
<p>“He <i>WHAT?</i>” Ron roared, jumping to his feet.
</p>
<p>“Ron!” Harry whined. “Quiet!”
</p>
<p>“How the hell do you expect me to be quiet when that bloody ferret has-!”
</p>
<p>“Claiming me is <i>all</i> he did,” Harry interrupted quickly, keeping his voice hushed but insistent. Thankfully, Ron was placated, at least enough to sit down. He was still vibrating with anger though. “Look, it’s like this, okay. Right now, people think I’m an alpha, but sooner or later they’re going to figure out otherwise. I’ve got enough problems without people trying to make me their bitch, so I needed someone who can protect me when that time comes.”
</p>
<p>“And you thought <i>Malfoy</i> would be a good person to do that?” Ron yelped.
</p>
<p>“Hell no,” Harry snapped. “I would have thought he was the worst person for the job! But his scent seemed right and-”
</p>
<p>“Harry, you’re not honestly telling me that you made a decision like this based on something as unreliable as his scent, are you?” Hermione scolded. “Scents change. They can be affected by so many factors, from a person’s mood to who they’ve been around. They are not an accurate judge of character.”
</p>
<p>“I know that, Hermione,” Harry replied tiredly. “But I could at least smell sexual intent, and he didn’t have any. Plus we talked, and we came to an agreement. We’re not mates, we’re not going to bond, we’re just helping each other out with some of the secondary consequences of our genders. There’s nothing sexual or untoward about it, it’s just… a truce. Of sorts. It doesn’t change how much we dislike each other, just makes it a bit awkward to be so antagonistic as we used to be. That’s all.”
</p>
<p>“You’re not seriously trusting him, are you?” Ron asked. “Malfoy lies as easily as he breathes. He’s a Slytherin! It’s what they do. He’ll probably stab you in the back right when you least expect it.”
</p>
<p>Harry supposed Ron had a point. They may have made a pact and shook hands, but really there was nothing to guarantee that Malfoy would come to Harry’s aid if he ever needed it.
</p>
<p>But Harry wanted to trust him.
</p>
<p>It must be the omega in him, that was it. Harry may not have behaved much like the omega he was, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t susceptible to some of the traits the gender was known for. Omegas trusted alphas, especially an alpha who had claimed them. Malfoy had bitten Harry, so it was only natural that Harry would be willing to place undeserved faith in him.
</p>
<p>“You’re right, I’m probably not thinking straight,” Harry said, trying to convince himself Ron was right. But he just couldn’t bring himself to mean it. “I’ll end our arrangement, and find some way to keep him quiet.”
</p>
<p>Hermione and Ron both looked relieved to hear that, and it made Harry feel guilty, because it had been a lie. Even if Malfoy was going to stab him in the back, Harry would still send him scented items to help with his ruts. He wouldn’t do anything to threaten Malfoy into silence, either. Maybe it was dumb, but he couldn’t help himself.
</p>
<p>“Good,” Hermione said. “And Harry, don’t worry about anyone trying to take advantage of you. Ron and I will make sure it doesn’t happen. You’ve got other friends who I’m sure you can rely on too. You’ll be fine.”
</p>
<p>“Yeah,” Harry nodded, pretending to be convinced, “I know.”
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Harry was surprised when, at the end of the week, he returned to his dorm to find his handkerchief, freshly laundered, lying on his bed, along with a folded piece of parchment which turned out to be a very polite and formal thank-you note from Malfoy. 
</p>
<p>The following month, the process repeated, with Harry once again sending the hanky, and once again having it returned with a polite note.
</p>
<p>The awkward encounters between Harry and Malfoy didn’t cease, no matter how much time passed. It was their new ritual now, instead of the posturing they had been prone to in the past. Because how else could they respond to one another, under the circumstances?
</p>
<p>It was in the third month that things changed. Gryffindor had their first quidditch match against Ravenclaw a few days before Malfoy’s usual note arrived, and so when the missive came, the content was not the blunt assertion of an upcoming rut that the previous months had brought.
</p>
<p><i>“Potter, that was some rather impressive flying yesterday, but I must question whether or not it was really necessary to dive so steeply to avoid that bludger, or if you are merely trying to give me a heart attack. We may not be mates, but do remember that, having claimed you, my alpha instincts do insist on certain protective tendencies to your wellbeing. </i>
</p>
<p><i>“That being said, I anticipate some difficult times ahead. This should come as no surprise to you, I’m sure, given the duration that has passed since I last contacted you. As usual, I will be requiring your assistance as arranged. Yours, M.</i>
</p>
<p><i>“P.S. But seriously though, could you try and fly a little more sanely in the future? Your maneuvers were such a turn-on that I half expected to go into rut early, which would have been absolutely mortifying.”</i>
</p>
<p>Harry couldn’t help the glow of pride that Malfoy’s note instilled in him. He tucked a return note into the usual hanky, saying merely <i>“I’ll think about it.”</i>
</p>
<p>Strangely enough, that was all it took to create regular correspondence between the two. At first it was just bickering- Malfoy complaining that Harry was being unfair and Harry complaining back that Malfoy was the one being unfair with all his demands. But even with all their complaints, there was a sort of camaraderie in it that Harry would never have expected. Soon it became complaints about things other than each other- how much homework their professors had assigned, how boring a certain class was, how intense their team’s quidditch practices were, and so on. From there, it just became general commentary, like when Malfoy saw fit to compare Professor Flitwick’s moustache to a caterpillar, and Harry replied by commenting that caterpillar moustaches were one thing, but that was nothing compared to the way the ancient runes professor’s eyebrows looked like they were stolen from a great horned owl. Malfoy had replied by sending Harry a detailed drawing of a mournful-looking great horned owl without the characteristic tufts, and Harry had guffawed loudly in the middle of transfiguration and cost Gryffindor ten points.
</p>
<p>But the real turning point in their relationship came a month later, when Malfoy sent Harry a tin of toffee as a Christmas present, along with a small package labelled <i>“Sealed to preserve scent- Do not open until your next heat”</i>. Harry had immediately written a lengthy thank-you letter, apologizing for not getting Malfoy anything in return and vowing to amend this slight the next time he was in Hogsmeade, and asking about his holiday. And when Malfoy’s reply had included the lines, <i>“There is no need to trouble yourself to get me a return gift. I got you a present simply because I wanted to,”</i> Harry began to feel something strange in his chest. Malfoy had wanted to give him a gift. His long-time rival, who had only ever had insults to give to Harry, now cared enough for him to send him a present. And Harry cared enough to do the same.
</p>
<p>And to top things off, Malfoy had begun to address his letters and notes to Harry, and had changed the initial he signed off with to D. Harry found himself doing the same, thrilled to have grown closer to-
</p>
<p>To whom, exactly? What was Malfoy to him? His alpha? That couldn’t be right though. Yes, Malfoy had claimed him, but that was just temporary. It was a precaution only. Besides, Harry was getting better at telling when he felt things because he was an omega and that was what was written in his magical core or DNA or wherever, and when he felt things because that was what he felt. And whatever he felt for Malfoy, it was simply what he felt. After all, his omega instincts were hardly going to be sent into a tizzy by words on a paper that had no obvious ties to the alpha who had claimed him.
</p>
<p>Harry spent all of the Christmas holidays (the parts that weren’t spent writing Malfoy, anyway) puzzling it out, but he still didn’t have any answers when the new term began.
</p>
<hr/>
<p>Of all the people who could have given Harry’s omega status away, the last person he would have expected would have been Professor Trelawney. She was just so out-of-touch with the world, and for all that she had convinced everyone that Harry was going to die back in third year, she was harmless.
</p>
<p>Or so Harry had thought, right up until the moment she outed him in the midst of a divination class with the Hufflepuffs, by predicting that he would be in grave danger during his next heat.
</p>
<p>Of course, some helpful soul had piped up and asked if she meant his next rut, and she had replied that no, of course she didn’t mean his next rut, ruts were for alphas and alphas never had whorl fingerprints, let alone ten of them like Harry, which she’d noticed during the palmistry unit, hadn’t everyone else? And of course, the Hufflepuffs had gossiped innocently after the lesson, and soon it had spread around, and before you knew it half of Ravenclaw house was trying to confirm whether or not alphas could have whorl fingerprints and half the school had heard crazy and completely unfounded rumors, but the long and short of it was that everyone had heard Harry was an omega, and he couldn’t even deny it because it was fucking true and, as Ron and Hermione had pointed out all those months before, Harry sucked at lying.
</p>
<p>So really, Harry shouldn’t have been surprised when he was cornered in the hallway by three seventh years who were obviously alphas, even with their scents suppressed.
</p>
<p>“So Potter, heard you’re an omega,” one of them sneered. A fellow Gryffindor, and a guy.
</p>
<p>“You oughta be ashamed of yourself, pretending to be one of us,” the only girl of the group said. She wore Slytherin colors, while the second guy wore Ravenclaw blue. “It’s disgusting, acting all high and mighty when you’re nothing but a baby-maker.”
</p>
<p>“Alpha females can still give birth to children of their own, just as they can sire them,” Harry pointed out coolly, trying to hide the panic he felt. So far, the alphas seemed to be more offended by his deception rather than interested in assaulting him. But that didn’t mean their attitude wouldn’t change.
</p>
<p>“Wow, so smart, give the omega a NEWT,” the Ravenclaw drawled. “We know that little tidbit of irrelevant information, dipshit. That doesn’t change the fact that you owe us. I coulda been mated by now, except my omega had hopes that the great alpha Harry Potter might look her way. So you owe me an apology for cockblocking, and you owe her an apology for giving her false hopes.”
</p>
<p>“I don’t owe anyone an apology,” Harry spat back. “I’ve told people I’m not interested in a mate ever since my first day here. I’ve rejected them all, right from the start, so there was no reason for anyone to assume I’d choose them.”
</p>
<p>“If you reject everyone unanimously, then you still leave them hope,” the Gryffindor replied. “They start to think that you don’t want your special someone to be hurt by those jealous of your attention, or they think that maybe you simply aren’t ready for a mate and someday your feelings will change. So it’s still your fault in the end, for rejecting everyone.”
</p>
<p>“You’re wrong,” a new voice said from beyond the wall of seventh years trapping Harry against the stone wall of the hallway. “He didn’t reject everyone. He just rejected everyone but me.”
</p>
<p>Harry felt an exasperated rush of relief. Trust Malfoy to manage to stroke his own ego while still saving the day.
</p>
<p>“Oh please, everyone knows you two hate each other,” the Ravenclaw huffed.
</p>
<p>“It’s true,” Harry piped up quickly. “I have his claim mark. It’s just glamoured.”
</p>
<p>“Why would you glamour it?” the Slytherin girl asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.
</p>
<p>“Because it would be hell if my parents found out I’d chosen a mate on my own, <i>obviously</i>,” Malfoy sneered, and Harry thought <i>‘I could kiss him.’</i>
</p>
<p>Actually, kissing Malfoy didn’t seem like such a bad idea, and not just because of the situation.
</p>
<p>“I don’t believe it,” the Slytherin insisted.
</p>
<p>“Well you should,” Malfoy retorted. “Because he’s mine.” Malfoy’s eyes glinted with just a hint of possessiveness, and Harry wasn’t sure whether he was infuriated by it or turned on. “Now back the fuck off before I tell Professor Snape on all of you.”
</p>
<p>The seventh years reluctantly shifted away from Harry, and Malfoy moved forward in their absence, standing at his side as the accusers retreated.
</p>
<p>“Alright there, Harry?” Malfoy asked in an undertone.
</p>
<p>“Alright,” Harry replied, feeling slightly unsteady. “But you know that everyone’s going to hear about that, including your father.”
</p>
<p>“He might not be all that surprised,” Malfoy replied wryly. “I was interrupted in the middle of one of my letters over the holidays, and left it where someone might read it. Father did, and surmised that there was something between us. And when he inquired, Severus admitted that he saw us talking for a while at the scent party, since he and the other professors were there to make sure no one tried to force a bond or anything like that. You have no idea how uncomfortable it was, having my father tell me that he wished I had chosen differently, but would still give me his blessing.”
</p>
<p>“Wait, he thinks we’re…?” Harry trailed off, unable to answer the question.
</p>
<p>“Bonded?” Malfoy finished, finally turning his gaze in Harry’s direction. “Well aren’t we?”
</p>
<p>“I was gonna say mates, but… what do you mean, we’re bonded? You just claimed me, you never broke skin or anything.”
</p>
<p>“That’s what I thought too,” Malfoy replied. “But I think having your scent during my ruts continued the process. It’s still not the same as if you had my venom in you, but… well the fact that I felt your fear and knew where to find you just now proves that there’s some connection between us.” He paused, searching Harry’s eyes, then asked, “Does that bother you, Harry?”
</p>
<p>“No Draco, it doesn’t,” Harry admitted, smiling and shaking his head. “At the beginning of term, it would have, but now… I think I’d rather like it, being properly bonded to you. Maybe even mated, someday.”
</p>
<p>“Someday,” Malfoy agreed, mirroring Harry’s smile.
</p>
<p>“But just so you know, you better not expect any of that submission shit from me,” Harry informed him.
</p>
<p>“But of course not,” Malfoy snorted. “You’re Harry Potter, after all, the boldest Gryffindor to ever Gryffindor. Honestly, I’ll consider myself lucky if you don’t end up trying to dominate me instead.”
</p>
<p>“No thanks,” Harry said. “I’d rather be equals.”
</p>
<p>“I never thought I’d see the day where I’d like the idea of being the equal mate of Harry Potter,” Malfoy chuckled. “So, do you want me to give you a proper bite now, or shall we be horribly scandalous and do it in front of the whole school?”
</p>
<p>Harry’s only answer was to laugh.
</p>
<p>There was still a lot of music to be faced- namely telling his friends and his godfather and others who were important to him, though of course the wizarding world was sure to have their opinions about things- but at that moment, Harry didn’t care. He had what he’d always wanted: a relationship built on mutual feelings, a romance that was more than just an alpha dominating an omega, a partnership of equals. It was probably still a bit soon to call it love, but he had a feeling that by the time they graduated and mated, it would be.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>